The Tui has a double voice box (syrinx) that allows a huge range of vocalization, sounds that are often beyond the human register. There are stories from early Maori times onwards, where tuis were taught to replicate speech. Read here for a little article on these beautiful birds which tell New Zealanders where they are.

 

Here’s my early morning recording of tuis (and more) swooping around a kowhai tree, outside my aunt and uncle’s house in the Wairarapa.